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 Scientists studying captive breeding of the endangered
bamboo-eating bears said on Tuesday pandas are far more likely to
mate successfully and produce cubs when they show through a complex
series of behaviors a preference for a potential mate.
When giant pandas in captive breeding experiments displayed no such
preference, despite being deemed genetically suitable as a pair,
their chances of successfully mating dropped to zero.
"Incorporating mate choice into conservation breeding programs could
make a huge difference for the success of many endangered species
breeding programs, increasing cost-effectiveness and overall
success," said conservation biologist Meghan Martin-Wintle of the
San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research.
 The study involved more than 40 pandas at a conservation and
research center in China's Sichuan province. Pandas were put in
large open-air enclosures where they could choose between two
potential mates.
When both a male and a female showed a preference for each other,
there was about an 80 percent chance they would produce a cub. When
one of the two showed a preference for the other, there was about a
50 percent chance they would produce a cub.
When neither showed a preference for the other, there was a zero
percent chance for a cub.
The pandas showed interest in potential mates through behaviors such
as vocalizations called "chirps" and "bleats," and "scent-marking"
by rubbing glands against a surface or object. Females showed their
angiogenital region to males, put their tails in the air and walked
backward toward males. Males performed a handstand against a
vertical surface and urinated.
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"We learned that, just as in humans, breeding signals are
complicated," Martin-Wintle said.
Conservation breeding programs act as a fail-safe against
extinction, providing animals for reintroduction to the wild to
bolster dwindling populations. Pandas, remaining in the wild in only
a few Chinese mountain ranges, have proven tricky to breed in
captivity.
"Pairs are selected to maximize maintenance of genetic diversity in
the panda population. This is essential for maintaining healthy
populations, and currently we have no problem with this," said
Ronald Swaisgood, the institute's director of applied animal
ecology.
"However, there are often several candidate mates that are
genetically suitable, and we believe that behavior and mate choice
has a role to play for improving the success rate of breeding among
genetically suitable partners."
The research was published in the journal Nature Communications.
(Reporting by Will Dunham; Editing by Peter Cooney)
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